ABSTRACT Export bans are frequently used as trade policy instruments to stabilise domestic prices, but they often generate unintended consequences. This study examines the effects of Indonesia's palm oil export ban, introduced in April 2022 and lifted in May 2022, on the performance of the global agricultural sector and the stock markets of palm oil–producing countries. Drawing on a conceptual framework, we develop hypotheses regarding how stock indices with different industrial compositions respond to such trade policy interventions. Using an event study methodology, we analyse daily stock market data from palm oil–producing countries as well as a global agriculture‐specific MSCI index. The analysis encompasses both nationally diversified stock indices and a global sector–specific index. The results reveal statistically significant negative cumulative abnormal returns for the global agricultural index following the introduction of the export ban, whereas national cross‐industry indices show statistically insignificant reactions. Following the lifting of the ban, the global agricultural index experienced statistically significant positive cumulative abnormal returns, whereas national indices exhibited mixed and statistically insignificant responses. These findings are consistent with the conceptual framework, suggesting that the policy primarily affected the global agricultural sector while leaving diversified national stock markets largely unaffected. Importantly, the effects associated with the introduction and subsequent lifting of the ban did not fully offset each other, resulting in an overall negative net effect on the global agricultural index.
ABSTRACT Using three waves of household data from a randomised controlled trial involving 676 rice farmers in Hubei and Jiangxi provinces of China over the period 2017–2019, we estimate the causal effect of information provision on pesticide use and examine heterogeneity with respect to the duration of the intervention, farmers' human capital, and the identity and mode of information providers. The results reveal that 1 year of information provision did not reduce pesticide use intensity, whereas 2 years of provision led to a substantial reduction of 47.2%. This finding remains robust to alternative pesticide measures, sample winsorization, and different regional fixed effects specifications. The pesticide reduction effect is larger among farmers with higher levels of human capital. Information provided by government extension agents significantly reduces pesticide use, particularly when provided through face‐to‐face farmer training and retailer‐mediated dissemination. In contrast, identical information provided by pesticide firms has no significant effect, regardless of the intervention duration or provision mode. Moreover, the provision of pesticide‐reduction information lowers health risks for farmers and environmental risks to ecosystems from toxic exposure without compromising rice yield. These findings imply that future policies should prioritise sustained information provision targeting smallholders, strengthen intervention effectiveness for farmers with lower human capital, and enhance government extension services.
ABSTRACT Environmental provisions have become important to Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and are key in promoting high‐quality trade. Using matched data from China Industrial Enterprise Database and China Customs Database, this study explores the non‐linear impact of the depth of RTA environmental provisions on agri‐food export quality upgrading and its mechanisms. Results show a significant ‘U‐shaped’ effect; beyond a 0.48 depth threshold, environmental provisions exert a sustained positive impact on agri‐food export quality upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis reveals divergent effects across national, firm, product quality and specific provision dimensions, with the ‘Balance between environment and trade/investment’ clause being the dominant influencing factor. We further reveal that cost constraints and innovation compensation effects are the key drivers behind the nonlinear impact. Therefore, this study benchmarks against high‐standard international trade rules and proposes policy recommendations for achieving high‐quality agricultural development.
ABSTRACT Understanding the determinants of illegal rhino horn prices can provide information for the design of policies to conserve wild rhinoceroses. Using a theoretical model, we identify empirical measures that may affect illegal rhino horn prices and derive testable hypotheses about their expected effects. We test these hypotheses using time series data on actual illegal market prices of rhino horn in Vietnam. The price data were collected from consumers who purchased rhino horn in Vietnam between 2001 and 2020. Assuming that the illegal rhino horn markets in China and Vietnam are perfectly integrated, we examine the effects of various regulatory measures implemented in both countries. We find that China's legalisation of trade in rhino horn antiques and the implementation of an anti‐corruption campaign are associated with significant reductions in illegal rhino horn price in Vietnam, whereas Vietnam's increased sanctions on the rhino horn trade and use have no significant effects. These findings suggest that, in addition to wildlife‐specific policies, broader institutional reforms and governance crackdowns in China may substantially affect illegal rhino horn prices in Vietnam.
ABSTRACT This study assesses how weather‐year‐dependent sheep and crop management tactics affect farm profitability and farm system greenhouse gas emissions in the central Great Southern region in Australia. To investigate the impact of farmers' tactical decisions on farm profit and emissions, a whole farm optimisation model known as the Australian Farm Optimisation Model is employed. The model describes a typical mixed enterprise farm, the weather‐year variation that underpins the farm system and the plethora of strategic and tactical management options available to the farm manager. Modelling results reveal that utilising all tactical management options increases expected farm profit by 26% and expected emissions increase by 11%; however, the emissions intensity with respect to farm profit is reduced. Access to tactical options can greatly improve profits and emissions intensity in particular types of weather‐years. Emission and profit outcomes are a combination of direct effects of individual tactics and the strategic structural shifts they trigger across the whole farm (enterprise mix, stocking rate), underscoring the value of whole‐farm optimisation models for guiding management and policy. The modelling results also reveal that assessing the value and emission impact of tactics depends on the other tactics already available to the farm manager. This indicates the need for whole farm system analysis if the stacking or bundling of tactical options in agricultural systems is to be properly understood and estimated.
ABSTRACT Contracts and ownership structures play a critical role in fostering innovation in the bioeconomy. However, identifying which designs best promote bioresource circularity and collaboration remains challenging, as existing studies use diverse frameworks and are often limited to specific contexts or regions. Therefore, we conducted a review to clarify the types of contracts and ownership structures within bio‐based value chains and evaluate their roles in fostering innovation. To this end, we followed PRISMA‐P guidelines when collecting studies and organised them based on methodologies to facilitate the synthesis. Using a framework of the ownership distribution along the value chain between primary producer and biorefinery, we categorise three main categories of ownership structures: vertical integration, individual ownership and joint ownership. Some literature argues that primary producers prefer low‐risk attributes and therefore shift much of the responsibility onto biorefineries. While such structures can encourage participation, they hinder innovation by concentrating power within the biorefinery. Joint ownership structures, such as cooperatives, emerge as promising alternatives, offering a more balanced and collaborative approach to sharing risks, costs and profits. Our findings highlight the need for future research to explore joint ownership structures and apply different methods to support substantial advancement.
ABSTRACT Growing awareness of unsustainable linear production, consumption and waste economic models is prompting exploration of circular economy and bioeconomy models. The ‘circular bioeconomy’, sitting at the nexus of these concepts, is of particular importance to agrifood systems, which play a critical role in producing biologically based materials and services, and converting waste streams into safe and sustainable resources. A systematic mapping protocol was applied to develop a broad overview of ‘circular bioeconomy’ research in Australian and New Zealand agrifood systems. Sixty‐nine full‐text publications were coded to catalogue studies by domain, methodology, and categories of inputs, technologies and products (for biophysical studies). The circular bioeconomy is an emerging research area, currently experiencing inconsistent definitions of key terms, a high proportion of review papers, and limited engagement with key concepts in certain research areas. There were key differences between Australian and New Zealand research, particularly in terms of science domain, research methodology and dominant perspectives on key circular economy and bioeconomy principles. Recommendations for future studies include standardising circular bioeconomy definitions, increasing social science applications, mapping potential circular bioeconomy assessment tools, and applying circular bioeconomy principles and guidelines to develop cross‐sectoral strategies. Coordinated research efforts can support circular bioeconomy approaches for sustainable agrifood systems in Australia and New Zealand.
ABSTRACT As a core component of human capital, education plays a pivotal role in shaping labour productivity. In remote and impoverished rural areas, limited access to post‐compulsory education creates a self‐perpetuating cycle of low education, low productivity, and entrenched poverty. Using data from China's Poverty Alleviation Through Relocation programme, this study examines the impact of relocation on children's post‐compulsory education, measured by high school enrolment. Employing a two‐way fixed effects model, we find that relocation increases the probability of high school enrolment by approximately 8.6 percentage points, with results robust to household controls and propensity score matching. Mechanism analysis provides suggestive evidence that these gains are associated with improved school accessibility, higher household income and increased educational investment. The effects are heterogeneous: educational gains are concentrated among male children and those in households with lower‐educated and older heads, are primarily driven by rural relocation, and increase with the duration since resettlement. The findings highlight both the potential and uneven distribution of human capital gains from relocation policies, providing important insights for targeted post‐relocation educational support in other developing country contexts.
Circular bioeconomy (CBE) applications in land, marine, water and forest sectors are evolving rapidly to support agriculture and food systems. Their integration into national development agendas can advance inclusive, sustainable economic growth while enhancing social welfare and environmental stewardship. However, existing literature offers limited cross‐sectoral analysis of CBE applications. This study addresses that gap through an integrative review of concepts, theories, strategies and practices related to CBE in the context of sustainable agriculture and food systems. We examine research trends and propose future directions across four resource domains: land, marine, forest and water. Findings indicate a widespread transformation of sectoral waste and by‐products into biochar, organic fertilisers, animal feed, nutritional supplements and other bio‐based products that strengthen food systems. Additional outputs include bioenergy, bioplastics, handicrafts, furniture and paper. Drawing on these insights, we introduce a causal loop diagram illustrating a CBE model that links all four sectors. For Indonesia, leveraging CBE within global networks will require technological innovation, robust policies and cross‐sector collaboration to realise its full potential and align with global sustainability targets.
ABSTRACT Poverty alleviation relocation is an important component of China's anti‐poverty strategy and has reshaped relocated households' living conditions and social integration. Using the Poverty Alleviation Relocation Programme (PARP) as a quasi‐natural experiment, this study examines the impact of relocation on households' social status based on four‐wave panel data from 1351 households. The results show that relocation significantly improves subjective social status, whereas its effect on objective social status is insignificant. The positive effect is more pronounced among young adults aged 18–44, elderly individuals aged 60 and above, households with lower educational attainment, and those resettled in rural areas. Mechanism analysis suggests that social network expansion and improved life satisfaction are important channels through which relocation enhances perceived social standing. The findings also reveal a significant increase in conspicuous consumption after relocation, suggesting stronger aspirations for upward mobility among relocated households. By extending the analysis from material welfare to the social dimensions of relocation, this study provides new evidence on the social consequences of poverty alleviation relocation and offers implications for subsequent support policies.
In the context of growing energy demand, prioritising the advancement of the circular bioeconomy (CBE) over the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels is essential for a sustainable future. The utilisation of crop residues for bioenergy can significantly contribute to the CBE framework, providing a sustainable as well as an economical solution. However, it may be hindered by several knowledge and capacity‐related barriers. This study examines those critical knowledge and capacity barriers to the effective implementation of a CBE for crop residue–based bioenergy production via a systematic literature review and experts' suggestions. This paper further aims to compare the findings of the DEMATEL and WINGS methods in identifying potential relationships among selected knowledge and capacity barriers from an academic‐expert‐driven perspective, and to ascertain key strategies for successful crop residue–based bioenergy production through a qualitative case study analysis of Indian farmers. The results indicate significant discrepancies in the number of interrelationships among the barriers. Although DEMATEL reveals a comparatively greater number of interrelationships, WINGS tends to highlight only the most dominant and statistically robust causal links, identifying technical skill gaps and awareness deficits as particularly influential. Therefore, resolving these difficulties is crucial for sustainable bioenergy production through a circular bioeconomy framework.
With the increasing risk of global food insecurity, countries have accelerated their efforts to reduce food loss and waste. Moreover, traditional agricultural policies, such as income subsidies, significantly impact farmers' behaviour and grain production and likely food losses. Based on survey data from 1885 maize growers in China, we measured maize harvest losses in China and empirically analysed the impact of income subsidies on such losses. The results showed that on average, 3.02% of the total maize amount was lost at the harvest stage, and the loss per unit area was 17.5 kg/mu (262.5 kg/ha). Income subsidies were significantly correlated with greater maize harvest losses, and this conclusion remained robust after potential endogeneity problems were resolved. A heterogeneity analysis revealed that the impact of income subsidies on maize harvest losses was significant for small-scale farmers but not for large-scale farmers. We suggest that the Chinese government should accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems and the reform of income subsidy policies, which should encourage farmers to increase the scale of their operations, and these subsidies should be transformed into more targeted policies to meet the requirements for reducing food losses.
Increasing rates of urbanisation, high unemployment and the absence of social security in developing countries are putting pressure on urban households' diets, prompting some to advocate urban agriculture as a fallback. Because households voluntarily choose to engage in urban agriculture, it is important to account for the self-selection inherent in practising urban agriculture when evaluating the efficacy of urban agriculture in cushioning urban households' diets. Accordingly, we estimate the effects of practising urban agriculture on household dietary diversity using the endogenous switching model with a count outcome (ESMC) based on four pooled annual cross-section surveys of Zimbabwean households from 2019 to 2023. We employ propensity score matching (PSM) as a secondary robustness check, acknowledging that it addresses selection only on observed characteristics. We offer three major findings. First, large households, and households headed by women, older heads and those that are married and living together with their spouses are ceteris paribus more likely to practise urban agriculture. Second, practising urban agriculture increases the likelihood that urban households will have greater dietary diversity. Third, urban agriculture improves dietary diversity only for the sub-population of households that do not receive support from rural relatives. The findings of this study confirm the potential role of urban agriculture in improving the food and nutrition security of urban households without support from relatives in rural areas in developing countries.
Productivity growth is essential for securing the long-term profitability and competitiveness of pasture-based dairy systems, particularly amid volatile input and output prices and increasing environmental constraints. This paper measures productivity growth using a total factor productivity index (TFPI) tailored to the seasonal, pasture-based nature of New Zealand dairy farming. We apply a proper-index approach to enable meaningful comparisons across time and farms. The TFPI is decomposed into key components: technological progress, scale and input-mix efficiency, technical efficiency, production environment and statistical noise. To account for climate-related variability, we integrate pasture growth indices as proxies for pasture availability supporting milksolids (fat + protein) production. Between 2012/2013 and 2023/2024, productivity growth plateaued, with the TFPI declining by 1.33% (-0.09% per annum). While technological progress increased by 6.9%, this was offset by declines in scale-and-mix efficiency (-4.2%), technical efficiency (-0.63%) and production environment favourability (-1.68%). Moreover, technological progress has stagnated since 2015/2016, suggesting that recent innovations have not translated into measurable productivity gains. These findings underscore the need for a multifaceted response to reverse productivity decline and secure competitiveness: accelerating innovation, strengthening technology adoption and building environmental resilience.
We apply a household production framework to analyse how changes in cooking skills, waste-abatement costs and wage rates influence the food waste behaviour of five consumer profiles in Finland. We find that achieving a given reduction in food waste through skill-enhancing interventions induces larger behavioural adjustments than equivalent reductions in waste-abatement costs. Higher wage rates, however, counteract efforts to decrease household food waste. Lowering abatement costs at the food preparation stage yields a greater overall reduction in waste than targeting the consumption stage. Our findings indicate that uniform, skill-based interventions are unlikely to be sustainable without complementary structural support tailored to specific consumer groups. Accordingly, policy measures should combine skill development with targeted reductions in the costs of preventing food waste.
Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) was established in the late 1990s. The market is an energy only gross pool with zonal (state-based) pricing. Over the past 15 years, the system has undergone a profound transformation as large coal-fired power stations have retired and substantial volumes of large-scale and embedded behind the meter variable renewables have been installed. In this context, Australian governments commissioned a review into the NEM by an expert panel (the 'NEM Review'). This article provides a summary of the key findings of the Panel across three key timeframes: the short-term market (spot market) is largely fit for purpose but 'hidden participants' are impeding efficient outcomes and there are increasing risks to be managed as the system becomes more weather dependant; the medium-term derivative market, used to manage risk, requires urgent attention to ensure liquidity and price transparency facilitate efficient management of spot price risk; and a new long-term integrated market mechanism designed to overcome the 'tenor gap' should be introduced to facilitate long-term investment.
Recent climate phenomena show that Spain is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts, with varied regional effects from flash floods to drought. This study assesses the vulnerability of four major crops (cereal, rice, grape and olive) in Catalonia to climate change through a comprehensive vulnerability index incorporating exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity indicators. Using farm-level panel data from 2012 to 2022, we employ a three-stage analytical approach using a multi-criteria vulnerability index, correlation analysis and dynamic panel estimation to examine the relationship between vulnerability and total factor productivity (TFP). Results reveal significant differences in vulnerability across crops and provinces, with olive showing the highest vulnerability followed by cereal, whereas grape demonstrates the lowest vulnerability. Lleida province exhibits the highest regional vulnerability, whereas Barcelona shows the lowest. Temperature-related factors emerge as the dominant vulnerability drivers, with extreme temperature days and temperature variability followed by topographical limitations. System GMM estimation confirms a strong negative relationship between vulnerability and agricultural productivity, with long-term impacts exceeding immediate effects. These findings provide a foundation for targeted adaptation strategies that address both climate exposure and adaptive capacity constraints, enabling policymakers to prioritise interventions based on crop-specific vulnerability profiles and key driving factors.
Cluster farming has been promoted as an institutional strategy to improve smallholder productivity, market access and profitability in developing countries. However, empirical evidence on the association between governance practices and wheat profitability within cluster systems remains limited. This study examines the role of governance practices on the profitability of wheat farmers in Ethiopia, placing particular emphasis on the mediating role of farm-gate selling prices. Using cross-sectional data from 759 farmers across 11 clusters, governance dimension indices were constructed using principal component analysis, and effects were estimated using two-stage least squares, three-stage least squares and quantile regression. Results show that accountability, participation and conflict resolution have positive and significant effects on wheat profitability, while transparency has a negative association, likely reflecting coordination and compliance costs. Mediation analysis reveals that farm-gate price explains about 89.5% of governance's total effect on profitability. Governance effects also vary by cluster group, landholding size, input use and profitability levels. Strong governance improves bargaining power, price realisation and economic returns. The findings highlight the importance of institutional quality in cluster farming. Strengthening accountability, participation and conflict resolution can significantly improve profitability and support smallholder livelihoods, offering key policy insights for cluster-based agricultural development in Ethiopia and similar contexts.
Frameworks and metrics that reliably describe agricultural emission sources and carbon sinks are critical to the formulation of cost-effective mitigation investment. This study identifies and compares three distinct emission reporting frameworks across metrics of total emissions and emissions intensity. The frameworks and metrics are applied to agricultural industries in Western Australia. Findings for 2005 and 2023 and the trends and uncertainties over the intervening period are reported. This study novelly considers a framework that includes emissions and sequestration from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities at an industry scale. Most of Western Australia's agricultural emissions occur in the beef, sheep and grains industries, which also dominate agricultural land use. The emissions intensity of the grains industry in particular is highly sensitive to the inclusion of LULUCF activities. While large uncertainties surround emissions and sequestration from LULUCF activities, there are indications that the effect of LULUCF on emissions has changed considerably over time. We conclude it is preferable not to rely solely on one framework or one reporting metric. We highlight that more research is needed to lessen uncertainties surrounding LULUCF activities by agricultural industries.
